Burlington GoCo Railroad
The GoCo Transit, Burlington Transit or Tarheel Missile Plant Railroad are the names/nicknames of the unnamed GoCo owned former rail line built in 1929 beginning at the former Tarheel Missile Plant and ending at an ACC Warhouse. The railroad splits into two separate tracks (A Wye) towards the Missile Plant, one heads toward the Courtyard for Refueling, Water, maintenance, etc. The other goes to to the freight loading station were cargo is placed in the trains boxcars or flatbeds, then the train goes toward the Fairchild Airfield across the non-flight part of the runway, on the side of it until splitting off from the Field, with parts (later) built by Western Electric, the trains took the finished planes to the Managing department, stopping next to it and the planes were towed to the runway after inspection, then later hauled the unwanted planes and/or cargo to the ACC, crossing a road and stopping (To check the signal) then driving onto the main rail line then reversing until they reach a Wye that took them off the main line to a Brick Warehouse owned by ACC where they would be contained and managed for marketing and selling, in which a larger freight train would either attach to the flatbeds and boxcars and then back up onto the main line and take them to their destinations or back up then attach to the freight depending on where the destination is. Construction After the TMP opened to freight, a "railroad" had its path planned, from the factory, across and along Fairchild field, splitting away from the field and cutting left towards the main line, originally running towards Graham NC Train Depot, and reversing to Washington Street Warehouse, which closed about a month during the railroads run. After the Warehouse closed, that line was abandoned and a new piece was built to reach another nearby Warehouse, which was owned by ACC. Another line was planned to be built on the side of the ACC to the Warehouse but was never finished. Trains The trains were Alco S-3's either personally designed or other helping trains. The designed trains were painted brown. Abandonment Eventually, the Factory had got tired of working on planes and seized process on aircraft in the late 60s. Fairchild refused to get shipments from anywhere else, stating they would retire a little earlier than planned, and closed the airfield after about 40 years of service. A lumber company was built on the old runway, and many mobile homes were built on the site, and a road was built across the runway. In 2006, a WalMart was built on the site, leaving a few peices of the runway visable, and portions of the railroad were scrapped aswell. Tarheel Missile Plant The missile plant was first built to house a textile factory, and as the size increased, it The Defense Plant Corporation purchased the plant and leased it to Fairchild Engines and Airplane Corporation. The plant was responsible for making missiles and later aircraft and aircraft supplies. The planes were carried by train/trains and was either brought to the ACC for selling along with the parts, or brought to the Airfield for keeping. The plant was a huge part of Burlington's history and for jobs, and the railroad was very useful for other railroads however, was dangerous in later years due to the increased train population and with the trains and freight on the main line. In 1991 Western Electric closed the plant and it was abandoned. Fairchild Airfield The Airfield was used mainly for war purposes and the planes were built by the nearby Tarheel Missile Plant. The airport was also available to the public after WW2, with its hangers, refueling and even repairs increased after war, and were not used as long as intended (1997-2008) because the field retired early, in the 70's. Atlantic Custom Containers Warehouse The ACC warehouse was a medium role in the GoCo railroad. A track from the airport passes by a small factory and connects to the major line(A Wye), mainly forcing the train to back up until it reaches the other Wye, then it goes to the ACC factory were the supplies are put into containers then sold and a bigger freight train travels to the factory and carries the cargo to the buyer. The building was once a Cotton mill, and after it closed it was bought by ACC to help with the railroad. The main building was not to far from there, and it closed after the railroad was defunct, so the supplies and containers were moved to the main building were trucks make the freight deliveries.